This celebration of Lutoslawski’s centennial is a mixture of new recordings,
the recently taped Fanfare for Los Angeles Philharmonic and
Symphony No. 1 joining classic versions of the Symphonies
3 and 4 (see review),
and the previously released Symphony No. 2 which came coupled
with the Piano Concerto and other works.

The Fanfare is a joyously riotous affair which acts as a perfect
opener for Lutoslawski’s lively Allegro giusto opening to the
Symphony No. 1. This new recording is a vibrantly captured
event, which just so happens to have appeared at the same time as Edward
Gardner’s Chandos disc CHSA 5108, a volume of his excellent Polish music
series. Both performances come in with almost exactly identical total
timings, though Gardner is more expansive in the Poco adagio
second movement, gaining back the extra minute or so with a more compact
finale. Salonen is more exciting in the first movement, though the microscopic
sense of detail is also a treat in the Chandos SACD recording. Gardner
gets a bit more of that Bartók atmosphere in opening of the slow movement
with more convincing string colour. I find his greater spaciousness
more moving, but Salonen gets impassioned playing from his Los Angeles
forces and doesn’t disappoint. I like his sensitivity to the Stravinsky
brushstrokes in the Allegretto misterioso. The final movement
is a real roller-coaster ride of spectacular orchestration and rhythmic
drive.

In the end, if it’s a toss-up between two versions of the Symphony
No. 1 I would probably take Gardner, but the decision is a close-run
thing, and if you want all of the Lutoslawski symphonies in one place
this new Sony two-disc set is a handy place to be.

With the other symphonies here being re-releases you might want to check
your shelves to make sure you are not duplicating, but these are all
great performances and well worth having. The Symphony No. 2
is a little more distant sounding than the First Symphony, not dissimilar
in effect to Antoni Wit’s highly effective recording on Naxos 8.553169.
With its more experimental textures this is a piece that thrives on
atmosphere and sonority, and while still very good indeed Salonen doesn’t
quite achieve the luminosity and sense of close-up physical drama and
contrast that we have in some later recordings, Edward Gardner included
(see review).

Both of these versions of the Symphony No. 3 and Symphony
No. 4 have been around for a while now, and while in their time
they were a leading reference for these works they now sound a little
dry and muffled when compared to some more recent recordings. What we
do have here are performances which we know had the approval of the
composer, and Esa-Pekka Salonen’s warm relationship with Lutoslawski
is evidenced by ‘that’ handshake photo in the booklet.

Having a listen to another disc with both symphonies, that with Miroslaw
Jacek Blaszczyk conducting on the DUX label, DUX 0506, shows how the
Symphony No. 3 has firmed up its muscles and acquired a greater
sense of direction in more recent years. Salonen’s still very good recording
does now sound relatively static and episodic by comparison. The more
compact span and greater immediacy of music logic in the Symphony
No. 4 is less problematic, and Salonen’s sense of shape and atmosphere
are refined and timeless. The playing in all of these works is largely
excellent, though the wind and brass solos stand out as particularly
strong in this last piece.

I can understand Sony wanting to keep the neatness of a ‘complete symphonies’
set, but it’s a shame disc 2 leaves out Les Espacesdu sommeil
as it had on the original, giving us less rather than more. Looking
at disc timings we could have had some further additions from Sony’s
archive on CD 1, and if they wanted to compete with EMI’s compilation
with the composer conducting (see review)
it might have been more fun to have a 3 CD set with a wider range of
works. Not entirely unscathed by the passing of time, these recordings
are however a worthy celebration of Lutoslawski’s centennial year, now
representing a superb budget introduction to the complete symphonies
of one of the 20th century’s great names. All critical remarks
are those of small degree, with only the knowledge of more recent recordings
taking away some of the competitive edge of Salonen’s performances as
market leaders. I would still favour these recordings in their own right,
and hope that in this form they will introduce more listeners to some
remarkable music.